Development and Initial Validation of an Expressive Vocabulary Test for Movement Concepts and Skills in Adults with Down syndrome

Oct 1, 2026

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The present study aimed to develop and psychometrically evaluate the Expressive Vocabulary Test - Movement Concepts Skills - Down syndrome (EVT-MCS-DS) and to examine possible differences in expressive vocabulary performance according to demographic characteristics, including sex, living arrangement, and age group. The sample comprised 48 men and 18 women with Down syndrome (M age = 26.56 ± 2.80 years). Item development used a multi-phase procedure with expert pictorial stimulus preparation, psychometric item analysis, content validity evaluation, and reliability assessment (Cronbach’s α, KR-20, split-half reliability, and test–retest stability).

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

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Pages19

Reading Time48 min

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Introduction

Participatory Educational Research (PER) Vol.13(5), pp. 226-244, September 2026 Available online at [http://www.perjournal.com](http://www.perjournal.com) [ISSN: 2148-6123](ISSN: 2148-6123) [http://dx.doi.org/10.17275/per.26.73.13.5](http://dx.doi.org/10.17275/per.26.73.13.5) Id: 1899349 Development and Initial Validation of an Expressive Vocabulary Test for Movement Concepts and Skills in Adults with Down syndrome Georgios Sivvas* Department of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece ORCID: 0009-0005-8678-4065 Kyriaki Emmanouilidou Department of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece ORCID: 0000-0003-3446-1799 Athina Pitsi Department of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece ORCID: 0000-0002-6693-7678 Grigorios Masadis Department of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece ORCID: 0000-0002-2964-7241 Nerantzoula Koufou Department of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece ORCID: 0000-0001-7790-5981 Konstantinos Filippou Sauder’s Robert H. Lee Graduate School. Master of Management. University of British Columbia. Vancouver, Canada ORCID: 0009-0002-6325-8781 Panagiotis Varsamis Department of Educational & Social Policy, University of Macedonia, Greece, Greece ORCID: 0000-0001-9657-2684 * Correspondency: [ffilippo@phyed.duth.gr](ffilippo@phyed.duth.gr) Vasiliki Derri Department of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece ORCID: 0000-0001-9487-9586 Filippos Filippou Department of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece ORCID: 0000-0003-3116-7930 | Article history Received:
27.02.2026
Received in revised form:
02.05.2026
Accepted:
17.06.2026
Key words: | The present study aimed to develop and psychometrically evaluate the Expressive Vocabulary Test - Movement Concepts Skills - Down syndrome (EVT-MCS-DS) and to examine possible differences in expressive vocabulary performance according to demographic characteristics, including sex, living arrangement, and age group. The sample comprised 48 men and 18 women with Down syndrome (M age = 26.56 ± 2.80 years).The instrument was developed through a multi-phase procedure including the selection of 50 movement concepts and skills, their transformation into pictorial stimuli by an expert committee, item analysis (difficulty, discrimination, and point-biserial correlation indices), content validity evaluation, and reliability assessment (Cronbach’s α, Kuder–Richardson 20, split-half reliability, and test–retest stability) . Item analysis resulted in the exclusion of 18 items due to unacceptable psychometric indices, yielding a final 32-item test. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s α = .952, KR-20 = .80, Spearman–Brown = .94), while test–retest reliability demonstrated excellent stability (ICC Single Measures = .967; ICC Average Measures = .983) . Content validity was also supported (I-CVI = .80–1.00; S-CVI/Ave = .92) . The EVT–MCS-DS demonstrates satisfactory initial evidence of validity and reliability and may serve as a useful tool for assessing expressive naming of movement concepts and motor skills in adults with Down syndrome. | | --- | --- | | expressive vocabulary;
movement concepts; movement skills; item analysis; content validity | | Introduction The development and preservation of expressive vocabulary is a key indicator of language ability and cognitive function in people with Down syndrome (DS) . The term"expressive vocabulary" refers to the set of words that an individual can actively use to communicate with their environment. Cognitive function, which includes a wide range of cognitive skills, plays a key role in effective communication (Abbed

FAQs

What is the purpose of the EVT-MCS-DS?

To develop and conduct an initial psychometric evaluation of the EVT-MCS-DS for expressive naming of movement concepts and motor skills in adults with Down syndrome.

How was the EVT-MCS-DS developed?

Through a multi-phase process: selecting movement concepts and skills, converting them into pictorial stimuli via an expert committee, performing item analysis, and checking content validity before reliability testing.

What were the main psychometric results?

Internal consistency was high (e.g., Cronbach’s α = .952) and test–retest stability was excellent (ICC values around .967–.983), with content validity supported by I-CVI and S-CVI/Ave indices.

Oct 1, 2026

Uploaded by lugxt